Places to live in Brooklyn?

[Acrossthesea]

I've got a thread here from last year saying that my DH was offered a transfer to the NYC office with his work. It took a while but we are almost done negotiating the contract & package. It's not as generous as it used to be, they won't now pay for brokers fees but we are overall happy with it.

We've decided against living in Manhattan, our friends think I'll hate it. I've never been to NY so have no idea. We don't have time for a before trip. We've started looking at Brooklyn, maybe Williamsburg, but any other areas we should look at, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights? DH will work in Bryant Park. We are looking for a Clapham feel to an area, no DCs but we are planning for it in the next years.

[Acrossthesea]

That's great. Did they find you somewhere you liked? Did you also end up paying a broker fee to them when they found you something?

[MakeItStopNeville]

They were quite rigid though. We have kids and wanted the Burbs. When we were researching, we liked the look of Manhasset but the Relocator dismissed it saying, “Brits don’t like Long Island”. We’ve subsequently discovered there are plenty of Brits that do!

[MakeItStopNeville]

The company paid for the broker fee and the Relocator fee so I have no idea! Yes, found the perfect burb for us.

[Plumsofwrath]

I think it’s good that you’re doing a lot of research before you get there. This way you can use your two days to the fullest, asking them to show you what you want, not just what they’re incentivised to show you. Good luck!

[Want2bSupermum]

Just to warn you, moving here was supposed to be a short term thing. Well I met DH. Then I found out that having a baby here is a million times better than on the NHS. Now, after arriving with two suitcases, i have three DC, two homes and a DH!

Try to get an apartment that is subject to rent control. Without rent control your rent increases can be out of control and you don't have the same protection of right to remain (renew your lease at the end of the year).

[Acrossthesea]

Thanks for the warning @Want2bSupermum . This is what happened to me when I moved to London, I acquired a lot of stuff and now a DH! It's unlikely to be permanent permanent but we are prepared for a long stint.

Quick question to those who moved with DCs and DHs , how much stuff did you take? We have access to a container and want to take a few bits which are sentimental/new, eg, a small sofa, small dining table and an ottoman. Are we a little crazy or full blown crazy for doing this?

[Want2bSupermum]

No not crazy. Furniture is expensive here. We have ikea which is the same price as the U.K. but everything else is pretty expensive. Take a look at pottery barn and crate & barrel for an idea of cost.

Sofas here drive me nuts. Bring one that comes apart and has washable covers.

[Plumsofwrath]

If you have a container, I’d bring the lot. Why not? No electronics though, they won’t work, and not your car.

[frozenlake]

We rented a house and brought a 40 foot container with us. It isnt any worse than moving around the UK, just a delay in your stuff getting to you. We had to get some new bits as this house is smaller and not everything fitted. Moving house is expensive anyway without rebuying everything. Also wasn't impressed by the quality in crate and barrel for the prices they were charging. We had to restock all of our kitchen electrics obviously.

[misssmilla1]

A big yes to the sofa comment - I am scarred for life with a particularly traumatic move we did into a Brooklyn Heights 3 floor walk up brownstone building where the incredibly heavy sofa bed got wedged and suspended off the ground between the stairwell walls!

Took nearly an hour to remove, and s hit ton of plaster fixing afterwards. When we moved out we used the couch doctor (basically comes and takes apart and puts them back together again) and then we bought an ikea sectional

I'd also third bringing stuff if you can - I moved a similar amount of small stuff as you're thinking about, was actually really handy

[MakeItStopNeville]

We brought everything. In retrospect, we would have not bought our beds. The bed linen is different sizing so we ended up buying new beds for everyone anyway.

[Want2bSupermum]

Crate and barrel table and chairs we have was $3500 new. Bought it second hand never used for $900. Two years later and I'm using a table cloth to hide to scars. If I had paid $3500 DH would have killed me. For $900 I've had 'nothing else will be purchased from their kitchen department'.

It is a good indication of cost. Do not buy from them.

[Plumsofwrath]

Good point about bed linen and mattress sizes. We actually didn’t bring beds. I also can’t get my head around the whole comforter/duvet thing. How do people wash their comforters?!

[Want2bSupermum]

We have a king sized bed and two twin duvets from England. I buy my bedlinen from UK so it fits. Everything is easier to wash this way.

[londontonyc]

Hello! Have no advice really but v interested in the post as we'll be moving over in April. DH has a job also near Bryant Park and we've chosen Harrison in Westchester to settle. Trains to Grand Central take 35 mins and it's a short walk at the other end. We've taken a trip over and seems a lovely area, taxes are high but we have 2 children so will appreciate the good schools. Near beach and funfair for our LO's! We're currently in Wanstead, London E11 and I was looking for a nice villagey feel when choosing an area. We've put an offer in on a house as it seems cheap to buy but expensive to rent in comparison to London.

Good luck! xx

[Want2bSupermum]

You put an offer in to buy!!! You are very brave. Westchester has high property taxes. Mortgage payment is less than our property taxes each month and we only pay $23k a year (which is not a stealth boast BTW as our neighbors pay a lot more).

[londontonyc]

I know! Feels crazy! Tax will be $26,000 pa ( tho I hear you negotiate it down after sale?) but that's what we currently pay in school fees in London, and the class sizes and facilities are so comparable to what we've got at the moment. Plus, no stamp duty. And tax breaks on mortgage payments. And super high rent compared to London. It seems to make sense, for now!

[Want2bSupermum]

No you can't necessarily neigotiate down after the sale. They also have reassessments every so often where they re-peg you.

[Want2bSupermum]

Tax break is only on the first $750k. No property taxes will be deductible because only first $10k in state income tax and property taxes are deductible. It knocks blue states hard.

[Plumsofwrath]

Buying in Westchester close to the waterfront and the station is cheap compared to E11, renting or buying, big enough for at least 4 😲 ?!

YY to everything Want2be has said re taxes (as ever, it’s been years she’s been right 😀). In my experience, tax reassessments happen every single year, on the dot, and for the 8 years I’ve lived here they’ve only ever gone up. Westchester has people with money to spare, the State knows this. If there are tax breaks to be had, Westchester won’t be getting them.

I don’t want to freak you out londontonyc, but it may be helpful to speak to a knowledgeable local, if you can. Unless you really know what you’re doing (have lived here before, are being handheld by someone who knows all the ins and outs), in my view it’s a bold step to buy. Working the system to your advantage takes knowledge and experience.

[Acrossthesea]

Wow @londontonyc you are super brave in buying a place! We'll be renting as we are not settling in so permanently.

Good luck with it all! I'm currently trying to sell the furniture that is staying in the UK and trim down a bit the amount of stuff we are taking over to the US.

[Want2bSupermum]

You have a stamp duty here when you sell. Our homes were both over $1m so we pay 1% mansion tax when buying and there is another tax when selling. I think it's 5% when your home is over $1m. Our previous home which we sold, was assessed for 3% of closing cost.

[misssmilla1]

I live 2 miles down the road in westchester if you need any up to date info london.

I wouldn't say westchester residents have money to spare tbh - I think the changes to not being able to off property taxes is going to hit everyone round here very hard in the next 12-18 months. Taxes are high but many people pay due to the school system in Scarsdale, Mamaroneck and rye brook areas etc you get as a result - they see it as either they pay high taxes or lower taxes and private school fees

Also a note of caution - aside from the shit show at a federal level with the max you can write off changing to only 10k, westchester country has just approved a 2% property tax hike (first in 8 years) so we're being squeezed from all sides, terrible timing and I expect there'll be a backlash.

You can't negotiate on property taxes - you can ask for a revalue or whether you qualify for STAR abatements but these are not standard

[BigBlueOceanAlwaysThere]

@MakeItStopNeville if you had the choice of the company paying for the broker fees OR the services of Intrepid, which would you have chosen? We've been told it's either or.

[MakeItStopNeville]

What do you mean by Broker Fees? Do you mean paying the Realtor?
Because that is all paid for by the Seller/Landlord. Are you offering to pay as part of a deal?